The crimson moon barely peeked out from behind the dark storm clouds. Taking advantage of the few moments when the black clouds parted to illuminate the city with its crimson veil.
On the corner of the theater street, umbrella in hand, Vivian urged the boy Saul to get into the carriage.
"Come on!" With one eye closed, the Barbarian barely restrained the urge to grab the collar of his shirt and throw him into the car.
Unaware that his well-being was in danger, Saul took the time to bow respectfully amid the storm. "Thank you for accompanying me, Miss."
Gritting her teeth, Vivian sighed in exasperation and pushed the boy with her free hand.
"Yes, yes, whatever. Just get in already! I still have things to do!"
'Like getting drunk on wine on my sofa!' The last part was said in her heart, not wanting to give the boy a bad impression.
Not because she cared what he thought, but because she didn't want him to make another one of his strange comments.
She had had enough of those for one night!
He may have been a little behind in social interactions, but even Saul knew that the older woman wanted to leave. Not wanting to bother her any further and having fulfilled his purpose for the night, he finally got into the carriage.
Slamming the door shut with a loud bang, Vivian gave it a few pats.
The carriage driver, seeing this, pulled on the horses' reins, "Ya!"
Clop! Clop! Clop!
Watching the carriage drive away, Vivian wasted no time and quickly set off towards her own carriage.
~~
Arriving, she entered and closed the door behind her.
"Uff!" Sinking into her seat, she carelessly threw her umbrella in front of her.
Not in the mood, she reached into her bosom and took out her cigarette case along with her lighter. Lighting one, she placed it between her lips as she indicated the direction of her home.
"Sonaris Street."
The driver tapped the window in affirmation, and soon Vivian felt the carriage move.
Inhaling deeply, consuming more than half of her cigarette in one go, she hung her head over the seat.
Puff
Like a steam engine, a cloud of gray smoke rose to the ceiling of the carriage. The smell of cigarette smoke, though strong, was relaxing for the barbarian.
This was a special type of cigarette. The herbs that made it up were specially grown in Bayam and processed in Intis, giving it a minty and spicy flavor. It was very popular among middle- and upper-class women in the Republic of Intis, especially single women.
Bored, Vivian looked at her container with tired eyes, counting how many were left.
'Seven, huh? I have to order a new batch soon...' Vivian sighed and inhaled again, enjoying the smoke going down her throat.
It wasn't cheap, oh, but it was worth it.
Closing her eyes, Vivian relaxed, and her mind soon emptied of all worries and annoyances.
~~
With her legs crossed and unconcerned about wearing a skirt, her high-heeled feet began to move back and forth in a certain rhythm.
"Mm~ Mhm~ Bababash~" A humming came out of her following the movement of her feet. Soon, a smile followed.
"Mhm~ Baba-bash~"
~~
A soft melody began to reach her ears, one that made her eyelids feel heavy.
"Ba... ba... bash..." The woman's eyes closed, her breathing slowed.
'A nap wouldn't hurt...'
Her half-smoked cigarette still rested in her mouth, hanging precariously. With her breathing, it slipped and fell toward her dress. But before it touched her, a hand gently caught it.
"Oh! No, no, we don't want any accidents now~" Singing in a melodious voice, followed by a giggle, the cigarette was extinguished in the ashtray.
Sitting in front of the sleeping woman and crossing his legs, a few fingers tapped on the car window.
The driver, who was doing his best to shelter from the rain, shouted, "What's going on, Miss?! We're still a long way from Sonaris!"
His customer's voice replied apologetically;
"Sorry, I gave you the wrong address! It's Teros Street!"
The driver grunted loudly; he hated it when his routes were changed like this.
Luckily, Teros Street wasn't far from Sonaris. He would have to take a detour, but it was manageable.
With a new route in mind, he tapped on the window and shouted.
"Understood, Miss!"
Inside the carriage, the customer cried out in relief, "Oh! Thank you so much, sir! You're such a gentleman!"
Rolling his eyes inwardly but with a slight smile on his lips, the driver focused solely on doing his job.
"At your service, Madam!"
Looking at the sleeping woman in front of him, a pair of yellow eyes curved into a smile.
His lips reconnected with the mouthpiece of his flute, and a soft melody filled the interior of the carriage, intensifying the yellow of those eyes.
The driver seemed completely deaf to it.
With the soft wind of the flute colliding with the sharp winds of the storm outside, the carriage soon took its detour toward Teros Street.
...
"Hia!" Pulling on the reins to stop his horses, the driver took a moment to look around.
Since he was carrying a lady and it was pretty late at night, the least he could do was make sure there was no one strange in the vicinity. But with the rain falling, he couldn't see very far.
Like the rest of the Elysian district, Teros Street was mostly houses or apartment complexes. Plus, it had a small park on the corners.
Seeing nothing unusual, he turned around and knocked on the window a couple of times.
"We're here, Madam! You can get out now!"
There was a little movement inside the carriage. After a few seconds, the doors opened and someone got out.
The driver leaned out, making sure the lady hadn't fallen. To his relief, the lady was standing with her umbrella open.
She raised a hand and waved goodbye as she walked away.
"Have a good night, sir!"
Adjusting his windbreaker and hat, the man also raised his hand.
"Alright!"
Clop! Clop! Clop!
Standing under the umbrella, yellow eyes watched the carriage drive away with a slight smile. His fingers moved calmly across the flute, playing it at the same rhythm as before.
Vivian stood beside him. Her eyes were half-open and cloudy, in a state between sleep and wakefulness.
~~
With the sound of the flute, Vivian began to walk again with no apparent direction, simply following the sound of the instrument as her guide.
She didn't have to move far, as they soon arrived at a house with a brown facade and a red door.
The door opened and she stepped inside.
Behind her, a click sounded again, and the melody finally stopped.
"Ah, home sweet home!" Stretching and cracking his back, a satisfied groan escaped his lips.
Straightening up, a sigh of relief followed. The yellow gaze focused on the frozen woman in front of him.
Vivian remained in the same position she had been in when she entered. Her gaze was lost in nothingness, and she held her umbrella in her hands, protecting her from rain that no longer affected her.
Casually, the flute was tucked into his shirt. But a guitar soon replaced it.
Making sure the strings were tuned, the man stood in front of the woman. A relaxed smile appeared on his face, followed by a chuckle.
His fingers moved into position to play a new piece.
Prrr- Cri
In the middle of his note, his finger froze, failing to play the next one. His expression was tense and trembling.
In the man's yellow eyes, a woman with blue eyes and black robes was reflected.
Wraith Possession!
The shadows on one side of the room trembled, and in the next second, a blur shot out from it toward the man.
Even if he was possessed, music could not be contained for long!
Ching!
The air vibrated, and a string was plucked, one that, compared to the pieces he had played before, was utterly out of tune.
An invisible wave covered the room in a second, bouncing off the inhabitants and into their deepest cores, shaking them from within and affecting their rhythm and tempo.
The blur that had emerged from the shadows became clearly visible, its speed severely reduced as if passing through thick mud.
A few steps away from him, a woman with blonde hair and black tunics appeared, staggering in an ugly dance, her feet failing to find balance.
Free from possession, the yellow-eyed man turned around, finally seeing his enemies.
An attractive woman and a pale guy with malicious eyes, just his type.
Smiling at them, his fingers quickly moved across the strings of the guitar, a melody joining the failed note from before and correcting it.
The blonde's out-of-sync steps were fixed with that and began to dance with it, and even the pale man stopped his slow advance and quickly joined her in the dance.
Their expressions were tense and stunned, their bodies refusing to obey them. Their souls danced to the rhythm of the music in a perfectly synchronized dance they had never practiced.
It was ridiculous and exaggerated, with their feet rising and colliding in a cheer.
Suddenly, in the farthest corners of the room, the shadows trembled again, and another blur emerged from them.
This time, a woman with curly white hair and purple tunics appeared, her hand outstretched toward the yellow-eyed man.
With her target marked, she clenched her hand and twisted her wrist.
The music was cut off abruptly, the guitar disappearing from his hands and reappearing in those of the white-haired woman.
A successful theft!
Staring intently into his eyes, the woman raised the guitar by its neck and squeezed hard.
Crack! Pop! Pop!
Broken in two, the instrument fell to the floor, useless.
With the medium gone, the melody that controlled the duo stopped, freeing them. The woman in black robes and the pale man regained control of themselves and stopped dancing. The former rose from the floor and disappeared into thin air like a specter.
The pale man, for his part, kept his distance with a couple of steps backward.
The white-haired woman remained in the corner of the room, her hands now crossed over her stomach and her chin held high.
Narrowing her eyes, barely frowning, Flora spoke calmly;
"May I ask why you did something so stupid, Mr Cordis?"
"I wouldn't call it stupid..." The musician in charge of the film's production laughed, his yellow eyes shining unnaturally.
Shrugging his shoulders, Cordis D smiled and casually placed his hand on Vivian's head and patted it a few times.
"All I wanted to do was ask her a few questions. Nothing more."
Sighing, the musician looked at the people in front of him in exasperation. "Geez, I would have let her go as soon as I was done. It was just one question."
'How considerate.' Keeping the comment to herself along with the eye roll, the Jacob just watched calmly.
Beside her, Sharron reappeared with a serene expression. Maric, for his part, remained in place, making no sudden movements.
They couldn't afford to be aggressive right now.
At this moment, the most dangerous person in the room was not Cordis D, who had a hostage, but the hostage herself!
If something went wrong or they hurt Vivian in any way, they risked activating the artifacts she was carrying. According to the princess, Vivian's grandfather was a skilled artisan, which made it even more vital to avoid activating them.
That was why Sharron was using almost none of her Wraith abilities other than possession. The vast majority were area attacks, which would only complicate matters.
If it weren't for those factors, they would now only be worrying about cleaning the blood off the floor.
Cordis, who had been watching her silently for a few seconds with his strange yellow eyes, broke the silence that had fallen with his eyebrows touching his hair.
"Are you related to Miss Abigail? You look very similar. Maybe you're sisters? Or cousins?
"If so, then you're my friend too! My friend's friend is my friend after all—"
"What was that question?" Flora cut him off flatly, not interested in playing games right now.
Cordis just laughed, unaffected by the sudden interruption, finding it amusing instead.
"Why so curious?"
Shrugging her shoulders, the Jacob said, "To answer it, of course."
One eyebrow rose elegantly, and she continued;
"You said you just wanted to ask a question and then you'd be done, right? Or did you lie?"
Cordis' smile grew even wider. "I don't lie, Miss."
Keeping his hand on Vivian's head, the slender man nodded, "Normally, I wouldn't be interested in getting answers from others. Different instruments sing different melodies even if they share the same score after all..."
There was a pause, and the smile on his face grew while looking at the three of them, "But with you, it's different. Your harmonies share the same changes as Miss Vivian's!
"Your fates have undergone a change!"
'Different fate?' A chill ran down Flora's spine, a memory flashing through her mind at those words...
To her time in the sewers and the certain death she was digging for.
Realization hit her at the same time those yellow eyes focused on her.
Barely containing his laughter, Cordis covered his mouth with a trembling hand.
"Especially you! Ohoho! It's truly horrible!
"Your harmony has undergone such a brutal change that the score has changed completely! Ahahahaha! It's the first time I've seen something so gruesome!"
The man's expression broke into a twisted smile, a mixture of disbelief and ecstasy at seeing something new and unknown.
"You found it, didn't you? You found the door! Where is it?! Where!?"
'What the-' Stunned, Flora frowned.
Door? What is this madman talking about?
Based on what he had said about changed fate, she thought he was looking for her partner, but it turns out that's not the case.
Whatever that door was that this madman was looking for, he had confused it with him. He had made a mistake and acted precariously.
'The princess is the blessed one of the Scarlet Monarch, a great existence. Thus, he has several blessings upon him, so it is to be expected that he would affect the destiny of a person with whom he interacts… If Cordis can see that, then his path must be that of the Monster because of his sensitivity to destiny, but then why does he talk about music?'
Most of the beyonders she had met spoke of destiny as a river or something related to water. Not of sheet music, symphonies, and harmonies; those were more for musicians.
And that talking door, what did it have to do with it?
'Whatever, it doesn't matter now...' Putting those thoughts aside, Flora sighed softly and shook her head.
"I have no idea what door you're talking about, nor do I know where it is.
"You've got the wrong person."
Cordis's body froze, his eyelid twitching. His smile remained, but it was clearly forced.
"Is that so? Haaa... Oh... ouu..." His words grew quieter until he finally fell silent.
The atmosphere had gone from being charged with hostility and mistrust to a strange one that didn't fit.
Scratching his neck with some force, Cordis sighed heavily.
"Well, this is awkward." Looking at the woman next to him, Cordis moved his hand away from her head.
As soon as he did that, Vivian's cloudy eyes cleared, blinking rapidly.
"Huh?" Confused, the Barbarian looked around, somewhat lost.
A room that was not hers greeted her, unfamiliar sofas, walls, and curtains of a different color.
"What..." Still somewhat sleepy, her gaze moved forward, finally noticing the elephant.
Some of the members of Mr. K's Wise Owl team were standing in front of her. Pale Maric was in front, followed by Sharron and Miss Abigail in the back.
"I apologize for the trouble."
A familiar voice said at her side, and turning around, Vivian noticed Cordis standing visibly uncomfortable.
Trying to make sense of what was happening, she searched her mind for the last thing she remembered.
'I put Saul in the carriage, and after he left, I got in mine to go home. I lit a cigarette and...' Slowly, her eyebrows rose higher and higher.
Putting two and two together, alarm flashed across her face, and she used her umbrella to shield herself.
"What the hell?! What the fuck did you do, you noodle-legged fuck?!" Taking several steps back, Vivian quickly positioned herself behind the Wise Owls team.
"You kept your word," Flora pointed out with some surprise.
She hadn't expected that.
Cordis placed a hand on his chest, "Oh! Let me tell you, I always keep my word, Miss! I was raised well!"
"You don't think we're lying?" The Jacob asked, one eyebrow raised in interest.
"Please! No one below a Demigod can lie to me, their cords would tell!" The man waved his hand dismissively.
'Again with the cords…' Not commenting on it other than narrowing her eyes, Flora sighed.
"Oh, that makes sense," she said, her gray gaze rose above his head. "What do you say, princess? Does it make sense?"
Cordis frowned and opened his mouth to respond.
"Maybe"
Freezing at the voice, Cordis turned suddenly, looking behind him with shock.
A dark shadow with cold scarlet eyes stared down at him, easily twice his size.
"It depends on whether his excuse is better," Adryan Kenway chirped coldly, a strange smile on his face that showed sharp canines.
Today really wasn't his night.